Bearing device for rails on sleepers of reenforced cement



Oct. 3o, 1928. .1,689,754

L. SERRA BEAR/ING DEVICE FOR RILS ON SLEEPERS OF REENFORCED CEMENT-Filed April 19, 1927 Egg? Fly/f f,

LULSL crvo.

INVENTOR.

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PATENT OFFICE.

LUIGI SERRA, F ROME, ITALY. j

BEARING DEVICE FOR RAILS 0N SLEEIPERS OFREENFORCED CEMENT.

Application Afiled April 19, 1927, Serial No. 184,942, and in ItalyDecember 22, 1926.

Sleepers of reenforccd cement for rails as hitherto used, owing tocertain structural defects, have given no good results. n

Reentorced cement has very little elasticity and is subjected tobreakage under the action oi" sudden overloads and shocks capableofproducing combined tension and flectlon stresses.

On the'other hand the use of wood and iron sleepers owing to the highcost of material has become all but prohibitive, and cheaper materialsmust be resorted to provided they 'fulfil the general requirements as toresistance and static conditions. i

My present invention has for its object to provide a bearing device forrails'on sleepers oit reenforced cement comprising two support blocksconnected together `by an arclike member, the latter and the supportblocls being interconnected by the inner metallic structure forming thereenforcement of the cement sleeper'.

In order that my said invention may be more clearly understood I haveillustrated same by way of example in one of its mod1 tications in theannexed drawings in which Fig. 1 is a partially sectioned elevation ofmy improved rail bearing device;

Fig. 2 shows on the left a plan view of the corresponding part in Fig.1,`and on the right an under plan view of corresponding part of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on line A-B of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4t a detail view of the anchorage of the rails; Y

Fig. 5 a detail view of the anchor bolt and Fig. 6 a section on line C-Dof Fig. 4.

Correspondingrei'erencenumeralsthroughout the drawings indicatecorresponding parts.

1v is the block proper, supporting the rail lon the sleeper, preferablyrecessed at the bottom so as to be able toL accommodate. the

heads of the anchor bolts and obtain the best connection to the mass ofthe block.

2 is the arcuate bridgelike tie or link between blocks 1, 11, whilst 3,4, 5 are the iron bars forming the common reenforcementof blocks andconnecting bridge 2. Holes 6 provided with a suitable metal lining aredesigned for passage and adjustment oi' fixing bolts with respect to therails. 7 is the shaft of the bolts. 8 are the bottom heads of bolts,

so shaped as tol be capable of being inserted from above through holes6. Said holes have bushes 61 at their ends fixed to the cement mass andslightly projecting therefrom in order to protect against wear thebearing part of the usual covering 4plate on the assembly. 9 is theplate for keeping lthe rail and covering plate on block 1, and has onthe passage for the bolt a tooth engaging with a groove on thescrew-threaded part of the bolt. 10 is a roughened inet-allie washerserving as an elastic intermediate member for taking up the vibrations,interposed between plate 9k and the hexagonal or quadrangular lockscrew. 11 is the threaded part of the bolt and 12 the groove thereinwith which the tooth of plate 9 engages.

In the modification shown three holes 6 are indicated by way ot examplein each bearing block or support, parallel to each other, and inclinedas shown, so asto permit adjustment of the rail and in order to adjustthe gauge. and also to cause the component of force to which the bolt issubjected to act in an approximately perpendicular direction to themaximum dimension of the hole. In Athe modification shown thereenforcing skelet0n of the cement structure comprises an iron rodembracing the interior of the bottom circumference of the block, thenbending and rising to approximately reachv the top in the centralportion of bridge 2, and continued symmetrically for the other block.Similarly' the inner circumference of the upper part of the block isembraced by a reenforcing iron rod which in the bridge part 2 is bentdownwards so as to be situated in the lowest part of the center ofbridge part 2. Furthermore another reenforcing iron rod is placed half-1way the height of the block and runs horiv zontally in order to ensureinvariability oi' gauge. The various parts of reenforcement, of course,are connected together by suitable bows. y

The sleeper placed in its whole length on the ballast or road bed verysoon after having been put in place finds itself in the same conditionas a solid body subjected to iection stress which is supported under therails and' 'subjected to stress in the center line by a dynamic loadfrom the axle of the engine passing with great velocity. Thus shocks andstresses act violently on the sleeper, and

the reenforced cement structure being rigid does not react well to suchviolent stresses, and therefore all of the diiierent types of cementsleepers hitherto used `have given bad results.

By my present invention founded on new principles a bearing device rforrails is provided which though keeping within the narrowest limits ofdimensions allowed by practice obviates the very serious drawbacks whichhithertomade the use of reenforced cement for sleepers all butimpossible.

Tests made with a specimen built for the purpose, comprising 'two rigidblocks yconnected together by 'a plastic member have proved that thesaid connecting member vunder the continued stress of passingr trainsgradually took an arcuate shapefwhich finally became permanent afterrepeated tests. A series of observations made on the connecting memberandits satisfactory arcuated shape have led 'to adopting the saidarcuate shape resulting from experience asa standard type of sleeperaccordingtoithe invention as shown inthe drawings inv which a .bearingmember for tho l.rails is obtained :in which iection stresses areabsolutely eliminated, as it may be placed advantageously in positionwithout the central portion being in contact with the r.roadbed It wouldeven be preferable to provide along-the a-Xis of the track adepressionin the roadbed whichfbesidcs dispos` ingrJ more readily of thewater would also be bushing in each depression, and each block havingavplurality of bolt slots therethrough,

certain of said slotsbeing adjacent the inner side'of the block andothersadj acentthe outer side of the block, each of said slots being`disposed at an .angle lto both the longitudinal and transverse axes ofthe tie.

2. A railway tie of reenforced cement, comprising-as an integralstructure aI pair of terminal blocks. and Van intermediate archedbridge, each of said blocks having inclined oblong bolt holestherethrough, said bolt .holesl being disposedat an angle of 10withrespect to the direction of the rail and arranged two near one sideof the block and one near -tl e other lside thereof, each of said blockshai/'ing 'a lower concave face with depressions 1n its upper andlowerfaces, and bushings in said depressions. I A i In testimony whereof Ihave hereunto signed my name. i

' LUIGI SERRA.V

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